One Last Mission
by JonHarper
Summary: Steve Rogers has returned all of the Infinity stones to their proper place and time except for one. Now has one final stone and one final mission to put things back in place, and maybe, just maybe, lay the past to rest while he's at it.


Vormir

Present Day.

There was a flash of light, a feeling of vertigo that lasted only a moment before it quickly passed. He felt his boots sink partially into sand as he rightened himself. He had returned all of the stones to the appointed time and place as Banner had instructed him too, never failing to accomplish the mission. Now he was down to the last one. One last mission, one last stop, and then he could rest. He was so very weary. The recent battles had simply drained his spirit leaving him bereft of of hope and peace. They had achieved victory, but it had come with a price. A price that was perhaps too high. Yet he had no choice but to press on.

Vormir; a world locked in eternal twilight, figuratively and literally. He looked up, seeing the solar eclipse of the moon nearly blocking out the sun, a near perfect black hole in the twilight sky surrounded by a halo of dim orange light. Carol Danvers had told him stories of this world before he left. A tale of a last desperate attempt to stave off some sort of cataclysm by the inhabitants of this world. It hadn't been too successful by the look of it. He stood to his full height on a dune looking outward; A dead world, long since scoured of any true life forms. A desolate dusty tomb of a planet where the footprints of life had long since been weathered away.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to center himself, the wind and sand whipping at his hair and face before he finally opened his eyes and settled on his objective.

It was a mountain, the only real feature in this desolate landscape; it rose up like a circular spire reaching into the sky and at the top he saw two points like twin towers rising from the top toward the heavens. That would be his objective.

He nodded and then set off.

This was the place. The place where Natasha had sacrificed herself. He had saved this one for last on a slim hope that... maybe... just _maybe_...

All too soon he found himself at the base of the mountain and he ascended, but as he moved he couldn't help but feel as if he was being watched and studied. As if he was being measured. There was something at the edge of his perception, something that seemed to be waiting for him. The Keeper then. Barton had told him of the guide who was the keeper of the stone. The Keeper no doubt knew that he was here.

It was at the base of the final stairway that he saw him, just floating there expectantly; like a wraith floating in the air, a dark sentinel wreathed in shadow.

It was a profoundly unnerving sight.

"Rogers, Steven. Son of Joseph and Sarah."

Steve Rogers eyes widened in pure shock at the voice. Not because of what he had said, but because the voice was so eerily familiar. It couldn't be! It was impossible!

But it was.

As if to prove the point the specter floated forward a few feet before settling to the ground in front of him, his features finally catching twilight to reveal the face of the Red Skull.

His initial reaction was to wish he had held onto Mjolnir just a little longer. Yet, something in his gut told him there was no danger here. The passion and fury of the of the Redskull that he remembered so vividly was simply gone. Replaced by a literal void of emotion and impassivity that gave nothing away. Somehow he knew in his gut that this man was no longer his enemy.

"Schmidt, Johann. Father of Hydra." Steve echoed the greeting he was given.

The Redskull face twitched then, perhaps in mirth or even in a memory but it was gone as quickly as it came, returning to its passive emotionless state.

"Tis been a long time since I have heard that name. A lifetime infact. None before you have ever greeted me in turn. But I am no longer that man."

"You've been here all this time?" Steve asked.

The Redskull nodded, "After the conclusions of our last… _Meeting_, the Tesseract cast me out, banished me here. Guiding others to a prize I can never possess."

"And now?"

"My duty and penance is not yet complete. I suspect it never will be. But such is my fate. I am merely the Keeper now. All that once was of the being you knew is gone."

Steve felt a pang of something in his gut at that casual statement, something reflected in his face.

"Compassion? Even for one such as me? That you could feel even a mote of it proves you are worthy of the stone you posses. Far more so than all who have come before you. All...except one."

_Natasha_

Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out the Soul stone. He held it in his hand, the faint glow emanating from the stone to bathe his face in its soft yellow light.

"You knew I had this."

"I did." The keeper responded. "I felt it the moment you arrived."

"I've come to return it."

The spectre slowly nodded.

"Follow me."

They walked past the twin towers to the precipice and the pit below.

"Is this where it happened?"

The Keeper gazed down for a time before turning to face Steve once more. "Yes. This is where the sacrifice was made."

"I don't see her body down there." Steve's voice was thick with emotion.

"I have laid her to rest, with honor and dignity. It is the least I could do for one such as her."

Steve's fist closed and tightened around the stone.

"Is there a chance that..."

"No." The Keeper looked down toward the pit and then back to Steve, "The Soul stone holds a special place among the Infinity Stones. You could say it has a certain wisdom."

"Wisdom." Steve echoed that word, his voice hollow.

"In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. But the process cannot be reversed. That which is sacrificed is gone for good. It can not be undone, even by returning the stone. The tribute to the stone is forever sealed in this place."

Steve closed is eyes and bowed his head, his shoulders slumping, eyes stinging with unshed tears. She was really gone then. There was no bringing her back. His last slim hope dashed forever.

He opened his fist and gazed at the stone, searching for something. And for a moment it was almost as if he could feel her presence telling him it would be okay, that all would be well. But then the moment passed though the weight of grief was no longer so crushing.

Steve looked up to see the Keeper patiently watching him. "What must I do?"

The keeper held out his hand. "Here."

Steve hesitated for only a moment, memories of his years of battling the Red Skull and his Hydra army flashing across his mind in an instant. Looking at him now though... He trusted what his gut was telling him; this being was no longer his enemy. He placed the stone in the Keepers hand. The Keeper raised the stone to eye level and inspected it for a long moment before turning his back to Steve and facing the pit below. The Stone slowly rose from his outstretched hand; rising several feet in the air before slowly descending into the depths of the pit. Steve followed it for a time until the soft yellow light faded to nothing; drowning it in darkness.

"It is done." The Keeper said evenly.

"Yeah, it is." Steve whispered quietly.

He turned away and began walking back.

"She wanted you to live." The Keeper said suddenly.

Steve stopped and turned. 'What?"

"Her last thoughts were not for herself but for you, for _all _of you. Her greatest wish was to see those she loved living full lives of happiness."

"That's going to take a little time." Steve said, his voice sharp as a knife. He turned to walk away again.

"You are _not _happy."

The Keeper's voice again made him stop.

"What makes you think that?"

"It is my burden to know all who seek the stone, and even those that return it. It is my curse. So I will say it again; you are not happy."

He stopped and turned again, his face contorted in growing anger.

"No, I'm not! I've lost friends, people I care about! The closest thing I had to a family since going into the ice was torn apart! That kind of thing doesn't exactly bring happiness!"

"But you will live on." The Keeper said resolutely.

"Yeah, but I don't know if I'll ever be happy. There's always another fight, another enemy on the horizon. Constant war. It never ends and I'm just so tired of it all!"

"You were not meant to share my fate, Steven Rogers. You were meant to have more than a mere existence as a soldier and symbol, to be used up and then cast aside. You must live and find the happiness that she would have wanted you to have."

Steve shook his head. "I don't know if I can do that."

"Then you dishonor her sacrifice."

Steve felt as if he'd been slapped in the face by a blast of frozen wind. His anger rose, fury bubbling inside him... before cooling.

"You're right." He said after a long moment. He tilted his head slightly as an idea came to him. "Can I..." he swallowed the lump that suddenly formed in his throat as the first tears fell. "Can I speak to her?"

The Keeper studied his face then, the ghost of a sympathetic smile showing, "Your words...would not be wasted here." He motioned to the pit below. "Speak to her from the heart. She will not hear you otherwise."

It was exactly what he intended.

He moved to the edge of the precipice and spread his legs shoulder length apart, head bowed and fingers interlocked at his naval. He closed his eyes and took a moment to center his thoughts before he took a deep breath and reached out to her.

"Hey, Nat. We did it. We won. We get them back. We got _all _of them back. And we couldn't have done it without you. But I can't help but think of how high that price was. Too high..."

He took a deep breath to steady his emotions, for they threatened to envelope him like a tsunami in that moment.

"I miss you, Nat. We all do. You were the heart of the team and it feels like we're lost without you. You helped me find my feet in those early days. You kept me grounded and on the straight and narrow. I've met some very incredible people in this life Natalia Romanov. I count you at the top of that list. You deserved more, Nat. You deserved better. You deserved..." And here Steve paused as he decided to reveal the one thing he held from her. "You deserved a lot more than I ever gave back. That I should have given back. You deserved...everything."

The tears fell freely and without shame to fall to the pit below.

"You will always be in my thoughts Nat. I will never forget you...for as long as I live. And I promise you, Nat. I promise I'll find that happiness you wanted me to find. You have my word."

"Goodbye...Nat." He felt a gentle squeeze on his shoulders he knew he didn't imagine. What felt like a caress on his cheek and for a moment a whiff of her perfume, but then just as suddenly it was gone.

He stepped back from the precipice and wiped his eyes. The weight in his chest feeling lighter.

He turned to the Keeper, "Do you think..."

"She heard every word." the Keeper affirmed.

Steve stepped back and then tilted his head in thought. It was insane and yet he had been gifted a rare opportunity. To do something just for himself and find the happiness that he had long been denied. To finally lay down the Shield and move on with his life. To do it for not just his sake, but because she wanted him to have it.

"Yes, Steven. Honor her sacrifice. Seek out that which brings you joy and embrace it. Such opportunities are rarely presented to any of us. You must take them when they are." The Keeper said as though sensing his thoughts.

Steve simply nodded.

"Goodbye, Steven Rogers. We will never meet again."

"Farewell, Johann Schmidt. Keeper of the Soul stone."

The Keeper bowed his head in farewell before stepping back, his face once more covered in shadow before slowly rising into the air and resuming his vigil. Steve turned and walked back the way he came. Down the mountain and back to his point of origin. His mind kept repeating in small circles the entire time. She wanted him to live and be happy, to enjoy a full life. Yet the only time he ever had that was with Peggy.

_Peggy_

Steve smiled. She wanted him to find happiness, so he would go find it. Those were the last thoughts of Steve Rogers as he disappeared from Virmir, never to return.

_Authors Notes: This story was never about Cap and Nat finding love and him rescuing her. But rather grief and acceptance of loss. But even then, those who we love are never truly gone from our lives, just so long as remember them. They live in our hearts. I wrote this because...well, I felt this was a fitting tribute that Steve Rogers would have given Nat. To say his goodbyes and everything he should have said. I hope you all liked it. Please leave a review, even if its only constructive criticism._


End file.
